Bill Text: HI HB583 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Early Learning Accreditation.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-12-11 - Carried over to 2024 Regular Session. [HB583 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB583-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
583 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to EARLY LEARNING accreditation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The legislature further finds that accreditation from national early learning accrediting organizations is one indicator that a child care program is providing exceptional level of care that meets the high-quality standards set by these organizations. The State's preschool open doors program therefore requires service providers who wish to participate in the preschool open doors program to obtain accreditation from national early learning accrediting organizations, and service providers who have not done so by July 1, 2022, must start the accreditation process no later than July 1, 2024, and be accredited by July 1, 2029. The department of human services is required to provide operational and financial support to assist these service providers to obtain accreditation and may contract with a private entity for that purpose.
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Establish
within the department of human services' child care assistance program, a child care
accreditation program to
support licensed or registered child care providers to obtain accreditation
from a national early learning accrediting organization;
(2) Extend the deadlines by which
unaccredited service providers of the preschool open doors program must commence
the accreditation process and obtain accreditation;
(3) Appropriate
funds for the establishment, implementation, and administration of the child
care accreditation program, including funding for one full time equivalent
(1.00 FTE) position; and
(4) Appropriate
funds to be deposited into the child care grant program special fund to be
disbursed and expended to award grants to private child care providers
participating in the child care accreditation program for certain costs required
to obtain accreditation.
PART
I
SECTION
2. (a) There is established within the department of
human services' child care assistance program, a child care accreditation
program to support child care providers in obtaining accreditation from a
national early learning accrediting organization.
(b) The program shall award upfront grant funding
to a child care provider who has committed to obtaining accreditation from a national
early learning accrediting organization, which shall be used
to pay for the expenses necessary for the child care provider to obtain the
accreditation, including:
(1) Expenses
to retain technical assistance for the accreditation process; and
(2) Incidental
expenses to obtain furniture and equipment and to make minor renovations to the
child care provider's facilities required by the national early learning
accrediting organization to issue the accreditation.
(c) The department of human services may contract
with a private entity in accordance with chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
to administer the program.
(d) The department shall adopt rules in
accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to carry out the
purpose of this Act, including rules on the standards, policies, and procedures
for the administration of the child
care accreditation program.
(e) The
department of human services shall submit a report regarding the implementation
and performance of the child care accreditation program, including any proposed legislation, to the
legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular
session. The annual report shall include
the status of the program, including:
(1) The
total number and general location of child care providers applying for the
program;
(2) An
aggregated summary of the categories of expenses and amounts of expenses covered
for childcare providers under the program; and
(3) The
percentage of service providers in the preschool open doors program who:
(A) Have
commenced the process of obtaining accreditation; and
(B) Are
currently accredited.
(f) For the purposes of this Act:
"Child
care provider" means the same as "provider" as defined in
section 346-151, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and includes licensed child care
centers, licensed infant and toddler centers, registered family child care
homes, and licensed group child care centers.
"National
early learning accrediting organization" means one of the accrediting
organizations identified in section 346-184(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes.
PART
II
SECTION 3. Section 346-184, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a)
Each service provider of the preschool open doors program shall be
accredited or shall obtain accreditation within seven
calendar years of first receiving any funds from the preschool open doors program; provided that
any existing service provider unaccredited on July 1, 2022, shall commence the
accreditation process no later than July 1, [2024,] 2029, and
obtain accreditation by July 1, [2029;] 2034; provided further
that the director may grant to any service provider one or more extensions to
obtain accreditation on a case-by-case basis."
PART
III
SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the establishment, implementation, and administration of the child care accreditation program established pursuant to section 2 of this Act.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act and may be used for necessary administrative and other costs of implementation, including funding for one full time equivalent (1.0 FTE) position.
SECTION
5. There
is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of
$ or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 and the same sum or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be deposited into
the child care grant program special fund established pursuant to section 346-183,
Hawaii Revised Statutes.
The
sums appropriated shall be disbursed
and expended by the department of human services to award grants
to private child care providers participating in the child care accreditation
program established pursuant to section 2 of this Act, for the purposes set
forth in section 2 of this Act, without regard to section 346-183, Hawaii
Revised Statutes.
SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Child Care; Early Childhood Education; Preschool Open Doors Program; Child Care Accreditation Program; Department of Human Resources; Appropriation
Description:
Establish within the Department of Human Services' Child Care Assistance Program, a Child Care Accreditation Program to support licensed or registered child care providers to obtain accreditation from a national early learning accrediting organization. Extends the deadline by which unaccredited service providers of the Preschool Open Doors Program must commence the accreditation process and obtain accreditation. Appropriate funds.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
